Advertising napkin holder



mill

Oct. 8, 1963 R. P. SPEARS ADVERTISING NAPKIN HOLDER Filed Dec. 20, 1961F ig. I /0 PAD Rufus F? Spears INVENTOR.

BY l E Anomqs 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 8, 1963 R. P. SPEARS ADVERTISINGNAPKIN HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1961 Rufus I? SpearsINVENTOR. BY flwaaifiw.

3,106,314 ADVERTISING NAPKIN HULDER Rufus P. Spears, 1053 3rd St.,Ahilene, Tex. Filed Dec. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 169,716 3 Claims. Cl. 221-35The present invention relates, broadly classified, to the field ofadvertising, and has reference, moreparticularly, to a mode ofadvertising which is satisfactorily and eifectively promoted with theaid of currently popular paper napkin holders and dispensers of a typewhich have met with widespread adoption and use.

More explicitly, the instant concept has to dowith a novel idea whichinvokes the use of present-day types of paper napkin holders wherein,for example, a self-standing dispenser is used. One type ofholder-dispenser with which the invention is effectively usablecomprises a vertically elongated substantially heavy metal frame orcasing having at least one vertical side, the front side (in mostinstances both front and back sides) open, the same having bent-inlip-like marginal flanges to facilitate stacking and retaining foldednapkins to be extracted or withdrawn one by one. Other and generallyequivalent napkin holders are within the purview of the over-all conceptas will be hereinafter revealed.

One embodiment of the invention pertains to a paper napkin holder suchas is commonly used atop a soda fountain counter, similar lunchroomcounter, or, as is usually the case, atop restaunant tables and perhapselsewhere, and an attachment therefor. Thisattachment comprises acup-like receptacle or receiver, the latter constituting a holder forsrnfll articles, for example, a doodling pad, a pencil, reading mattercarrying ads and so on.

This pad (or equivalent scratch sheets) and a pencil, lend themselves touse when nearby hands, which must be kept busy, resort to the currentvogue, doodling.

A further improvement resides in a novel device which is preferablycharacterized by a pair of spaced parallel vertical cup-like receiversor receptacles, said receptacles being connected together by walls orwebs and the webs being spaced apart and providing a practicalconventionalstyle paper napkin holder and dispenser.

Whereas the invention comprehends the use of a readytoapply attachmentit also, as suggested, embodies interconnected paired receivers. Infact, the receivers may be connected in such a way that the connectingwalls are themselves constructed to define and provide napkin holdersand dispensers. In one embodhnent the napkins may beremoved through aflanged top opening. 'In the other form, the inturned napkin retainingflanges are in the front and back walls as will be hereinafterdescribed.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter describediand.claimed,..referencebeing had to the accompanying drawin s forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is .a view in perspective showing a conventionaltype napkinholder such as is currently being used on lunchroom counters and thelike and also showing the novel attachment and how it is constructed andusefully attached to said napkin holder.

FIG. 2 is a perspective View showing the readily applicable andremovable attachment by itself. 7

FIG. 3 isa view in perspective of a one-piece or unified napking holderconstructed in accordance with the invention and showing the smallarticle receivers or receptacles provided as integral components of therespective vertical end portions thereof. a

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of one end portion of the holderseen in FIG. 3.

3,106,314 Patented Get. 8, I963 FIG. 5 is a section on the horizontalline 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective showing a third modification (compared-to FIGS. 1 and 3) wherein the article receptacles are paired.

FIG. 7 is a section on the horizontal line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

In the accompanying dnawings wherein like numerals are employed todesignate like parts throughout the views, the paper napkin holder(FIG. 1) is denoted as an entity by the numeral 8. This particularholder (different from FIGS. 3 and 6) may be here described as. aconventional type inasmuch as it is so well-known and in such widespreaduse on lunchroom counters and the like. This holder, as usual, is madeof comparatively heavy and durable metal so that it cannot be picked upand carried off and so that it will withstand rough usage. It comprisesa simple rectangular frame having top and bottom walls 1'9 and 12. andvertical flat side or end walls 14 and 16. The front and back sides areopen to facilitate stacking and step-bystep withdrawal 'of conventionalfolded paper napkins (not shown). Insofar as the invention is concerned,it can be assumed that at least the front of the holder is open and thatthe napkins are held in by the lateral turned-in lips or flanges 18.

In keeping with the invention, a napkin holder is provided and theserviceability thereof is improved by the addition thereto ofadvertising facilities characterized by a receiver for an insertable andremovable doodling pad, for instance, the pad seen at the left inFIG. 1. This pad (or loose sheets or leaves, if preferred) is not initself [unusual but should, in actual practice, carry an advertiseasdesired. Each receiver or receptacle is preferably semicircular incross-section and has a curved front wall 24 and side walls 26 connectedby a flat inner wall 28. The bottom wall is denoted at 30 and the upperedges of the walls 24 and 26 are suitably cut-away and shaped as at 32to provide a conveniently open mouth portion. The low-lying intermediatepart 34 of the mouth has an extension Whiohis bent at 36 and thendirected-downwardly .at 37 as shown best in FIG. 2. to provide a clip.This clip serves to hold an adveptisin g insert or card 33 within thereceptacle and the card may be examined through the transparent Walls.The linearly straight flanges 40 define a space between'themselves andconfine and conveniently hold the ends of. the'card. The attaching hooks42 serve to mount and hold the attachment in the usable position shownin FIG. 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS.

3, 4 and '5 and with particular reference to FIG. 3 it will be evidentthat instead of providing an attachment as at 22 in FIGS. 1 and 2, thearticle holding means may be built in a manner to constitute a part ofthe napkin holder. Or, .contrawis'e, the invention may be said to takethe form of a napkin holding and dispensing device having small articlereceivers preferably at the respective vertical ends thereof. The deviceas a unit is designated in FIG. 3 by the numeral 44 and comprises spacedparallel front and rear walls 46 (FIG. 5), transverse vertical end walls48 which are flat and which constitute components of the small articlereceivers in the manner shown. The bottom wall is denoted at 50 andthese five walls define a container 52 for the napkins 54 which as shownin FIG. 4 are pressed upwardly in readiness for dispensing by way of afollower plate 56 slidably mounted in the receptacle portion 52 andacted on by the self-expanding spring means 53. The top of the containerhere may be open except for the marginal turnedin lateral flanges 60which hold the napkins in place much in the manner as do the flanges 18in FIG. 1. The two end-attached receivers are the same in constructionand each is denoted by the numeral 62. Each receiver has a bottom wall64 at right angles to the wall 48 with the wall 48 provided with flanges66 holding .the end portions of the insertable and removable advertisingcard 68 in place. The card is fitted against the curved or arcuate wall70 which has a sight opening or window 72 therein to show the ad on thecard. Here again, the mouth portion of the curvate wall is shaped as at74 and has a down-bent card retaining clip 76.

The combination napkin holder and small article receivers illustrated inthe modification of FIGS. 6 and 7 is denoted as an entity by the numeral78. This is a one-piece construction and comprises flat top and bottomwalls 80' and 82 (see FIG. 7) and transverse vertical end walls 84having outstanding spaced parallel flanges 86. These walls inconjunction with the front and back walls provide a holder and dispenserfor the stacks A and 13 (FIG. 7) of paper napkins. Here the individualnapkins are pressed out by spaced parallel enclosed follower plates 83acted on by a spring 90 which is interposed between. The napkins areheld against displacement by the turned-in lateral marginal flanges 92.Here again each small article holder is at the end and these anticleholders are designated by the numeral 94- and each comprises a curvatewall 96 joined to the end portions of the adjacent companion wall 84,having a window or sight opening 98 to show the ad on the card 100 whichis placed in the receptacle or pocket portion with its ends held by theflanges 86 and its upper edge held by the retaining clip 102 on thecurvate mouth portion 104 of the curved wall 96.

It is believed that a careful consideration of the specification andclaims in conjunction with the views of the drawings will enable thereader to obtain a clear understanding of the subject matter and thefeatures and advantages and mode of use. Therefore, a more extendeddescription is believed to be unnecessary.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. *For use in conjunction with a paper napkin holder and dispenserhaving at least one flat wall, an article receiving open top receptacle,said receptacle having a flat back wall, a front wall, and a pair ofside walls interconnecting said front and back walls, said side wallseach extending rearwardly of said back wall and terminating in means forenabling an attachment of the receptacle to the napkin holder with therear face of the receptacle back wall engaged against said flat napkinholder wall, and a card retaining lip secured to the upper edge of thefront wall and projecting into the receptacle, said retaining lip beingspaced from the inner surface of the front wall a distance so as toenable the retentive reception of the upper edge of a card therebetween,at least a portion of said front wall being formed so as to solely allowfor a viewing of the card therethrough.

2. The structure of claim 1 including a pair of flanges secured to theback wall and extending into the receptacle, one flange being positionedparallel to and inwardly of each side wall a distance so as toretentively receive the side edges of a card.

3. For use as a combination napkin holder and dispenser, and smallarticle receiver, an elongated generally rectangular hollow containerincluding flat parallel side walls, flat parallel top and bottom walls,convex end walls, partitions extending transversely between said sidewalls at approximately the juncture of the side walls with the convexend walls so as to divide the container into an enlarged napkinreceiving center section and two smaller end article receivingreceptacles, the top wall only extending over the napkin receivingcenter section, said article receiving receptacles having open upperends, a card retaining lip secured to the upper edge of each convex endwall at approximately the center thereof and projecting into theadjacent receptacle, said retaining lips being positioned relative tothe inner surfaces of the end walls so as to enable the retentivereception of the upper edge of cards therebetween, at least a portion ofsaid end walls being formed so as to solely allow for a viewing of thecard therethrough, and a pair of flanges secured to each partition andprojecting into the adjoining receptacle, one flange being positionedgenerally parallel to and inwardly of each side wall a distance so as toretentively receive the side edges of a card, a portion of one of thewalls surrounding the napkin receiving center section being open forenabling the introduction and removal of napkins therethrough, said openpontion being surrounded by inwardly directed napkin retaining flanges.

Refercnces Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,010,468 Weaver Dec. 5, 1911 1,697,654 Jantzen Jan. 1, 1929 1,719,690Coons July 2, 1929 1,726,813 Endtcr Sept. 3, 1929 2,080,023 Zakos May11, 1937 2,083,464 Mayer June 8, 1937 2,174,613 Blaschke Oct. 3, 19392,274,866 Martens Mar. 3, 1942 2,592,255 Drees Apr. 8, 1952 2,704,627Brulin et al Mar. 22, 1955 2,771,979 Lenhart Nov. 27, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 815,829 Germany Oct. 4, 1951

1. FOR USE IN CONJUNCTION WITH A PAPER NAPKIN HOLDER AND DISPENSERHAVING A LEAST ONE FLAT WALL, AN ARTICLE RECEIVING OPEN TOP RECEPTACLE,AND RECEPTACLE HAVING A FLAT BACK WALL, A FRONT WALL, AND A PAIR OF SIDEWALLS INTERCONNECTING SAID FRONT AND BACK WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS EACHEXTENDING REARWARDLY OF SAID BACK WALL AND TERMINATING IN MEANS FORENABLING AN ATTACHMENT OF THE RECEPTACLE TO THE NAPKIN HOLDER WITH THEREAR FACE OF THE RECEPTACLE BACK WALL ENGAGED AGAINST SAID FLAT NAPKINHOLDER WALL, AND A CARD RETAINING LIP SECURED TO THE UPPER EDGE OF THEFRONT WALL AND PROJECTING INTO THE RECEPTACLE, SAID RETAINING LIP BEINGSPACED FROM THE INNER SURFACE OF THE FRONT WALL A DISTANCE SO AS TOENABLE THE RETENTIVE RECEPTION OF THE UPPER EDGE OF A CARD THEREBETWEEN,AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID FRONT WALL BEING FORMED SO AS TO SOLELY ALLOWFOR A VIEWING OF THE CARD THERETHROUGH.